A shopping bag design contest has been given the go ahead on Bainbridge Island.

Local artists and creative residents on Bainbridge Island are being given the chance to design their own personalised shopping bags.

The local City Council has approved plans to spread awareness of the approaching plastic bag ban, with a contest starting this week.

Various measures are being taken to ensure that the city will be ready for the new regulations, which will see a ban on thin-film plastic bags, The Bainbridge Review reports.

The city's code enforcement officer Meghan McKnight presented the idea to design a reusable shopping bag this week, an idea which was welcomed unanimously by council members and islanders.

Locals will be given the opportunity to create their own personal logos or artwork, which will be posted at city hall for public voting to decide on the winning entry.

While the idea may still be in its early stages it is likely that a separate children's and adult's contest will take place, with the winning designs then produced in a limited quantity and handed out for free to all islanders.

Until the shopping bag competition is ready to commence the most immediate step the US city is taking is to produce fliers answering common questions concerning the ban.

Over the next two months the fliers will be distributed to homes and business in the area.

This is ahead of November 1st, when the plastic bag ban will finally come into effect.

The ban includes bags handed to customers at shop check-outs, meaning businesses will need to be made fully aware of the ban, including what alternatives they have at their disposal, such as thicker-style boutique shopping bags and personalised gift bags.

Many towns and cities across the US in particular are currently enforcing single-use plastic bag bans as they look to reduce waste and encourage more environmentally-friendly business practices.